


Yu-Gi-Oh! Monsters: Realms of Myth

by Dragonexx



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Genre Hopper, Monster Focused, Monsters, Multi, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Shounen, Why Aren't There More Stories Like This?, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23063119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonexx/pseuds/Dragonexx
Summary: If expressions were anything to go buy, one might have thought Winda received the greatest news in the world. To most people she hadn't. However (for good or ill) Winda was not most people. In the Realm of Monsters, the sisters Wynn and Winda are sent on an "epic" quest to find the legendary Dark Magician.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Yu-Gi-Oh! Monsters





	1. Gathering Clouds

If expressions were anything to go buy, one might have thought Winda received the greatest news in the world. To most people she hadn't. However (for good or ill) Winda was not most people. Winda struggled to contain her excitement. Her father's expression was serious, but at his words, she couldn't help but grin.  
  
"I understand that I'm asking a lot of one so young and inexperienced, but, at the moment, our prospects look grim."  
  
"How grim?" She managed to quash the smile, though it ruthlessly fought to free itself.  
  
"Omens borne upon the wind speak of danger. A threat to our tribe and our very world worse than before."  
  
The smile calmed itself.  
  
"What kind of threat?" She asked.  
  
"This, I cannot know, much as it pains me." Said the other occupant in the room. Her uncle Musto, the tribes oracle.  
  
"Thus, I need you to to seek out your sister, and return her here." Windaar said.  
  
"And then what?" Winda asked. Even with the ominous tone, the thought of getting to go on a long journey far away from Mist Valley was enticing.  
  
"The two of you are then to seek out the help of an old acquaintance of mine. He's known as the Dark Magician."  
  
Winda gasped, struggling to come to terms with his statement. The smile resumed it's rebellion. "You're friends with the Dark Magician?! How come I've never heard about this?!"  
  
"Friends is a bit of a strong statement." Windaar said. "He's not really one to form close bonds. But we have worked together in the past, and I know he will be willing to aid us, should I call upon his help."  
  
"Really?!" Winda's eyes widened. The Dark Magician was legendary, the ultimate wizard. He was said to know all forms of magic and counter-magic. If her dad knew him...  
  
"Yes." Musto said. "A great calamity is coming. I know not it's true nature, but we will need all the help we can get to thwart it."  
  
Winda however, wasn't really paying attention. The smile had overthrown it's former controllers, seized the means of production, and instilled a new regime.  
  
Her father sighed. "Go get your sister. I know she left on her own path, but you'll be needing her help for this quest. We can explain things in full once you return."  
  
He didn't need to elaborate further. In a burst of wind, Winda was gone, the door rapidly bouncing back and forth.  
  


* * *

  
The sky, as always, was a welcome environment. Winda enjoyed simply feeling the wind rush past her, as she rode through the sky on the back of Gulldos. The Gusto tribe formed bonds with familiars, and through that bond, enhanced their abilities in unison. Most often, the enhancement came with a growth in size several orders of magnitude.  
  
Riding on Gulldo, she closed her eyes, opening her senses to the winds around her. While the air this high up might be dangerously cold to others, one of the perks of being wind elemental and a member of the Gusto clan meant that this was merely a comfortable cool breeze. The sensation was relaxing, and unbidden, she found herself reflecting on the conversation she had had with her father and the Oracle. Despite the eagerness of getting sent on a quest, she was taken aback by the sheer worry she could sense from him. He had tried to hide it, but it kept slipping through. The last time she had seen him that upset was during the war when...  
  
Winda shook her head, putting the stray thought out of her head, instead deciding to focus on more pleasant things. Seeking out someone like the Dark Magician? She had always dreamed of meeting him, but had never thought it possible.  
  
She leaned forwards on Gulldos. "Let's hurry and pick up Wynn, so we can get back, and get started!"  
  
Gulldos gave a cry in agreement, feeling it's masters excitement.  
  
Winda lifted her staff up. The air around the two of them drastically changed direction, massively accelerating their speed, rocketing them across the mountains to their destination.  
  


* * *

  
[Wynn's house](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laALh0SNBKs) was perhaps the definition of cozy, situated near a cliff with a beautiful view of the mountain range and access to all the winds that blew through it. The house itself was a two story structure made of wood and was near several trees, providing convenient shade when it was needed. From the sound, there was a flow of fresh mountain water not too far off. On the top of the house were several instruments clearly intended to measure the weather. Smoke lazily drifted from the chimney.  
  
At her mental direction, Gulldos circled downwards, eventually landing on the ground in the clearing just outside the house. As she leaped off, her familiar reverted to his normal size as Gulldo.  
  
Winda quickly made her way to the door, dusting a few feathers off herself as she did so. She was about to knock when the door opened, Wynn stepping outside, apparently having sensed the change in the winds.  
  
Her expression was shock, then confusion, before reverting to calmness.  
  
"Winda?" She asked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Before anything else, Winda hugged her little sister. It had been quite a long time since the two had seen each other.  
  
"It's good to see you to, Winda." Wynn said.  
  
"Yeah, I've missed you." She released Wynn, and stepped inside her housed.  
  
The inside of the house was what one might expect of a magicians home. Spellbooks and treatises on magic were organized in one area, while magical items and instruments dominated another area. A cauldron surrounded by shelves of reagents and vials of potions was in another. More standard living amenities also were about. Wynn lead her over to a common area, near the fireplace, close to the kitchen.  
  
The couch she sat down on had a book on it, bookmarked. Winda must had interrupted her in the middle of her reading.  
  
"So, why are you here, sister?" Wynn asked.  
  
Winda could barely contain her excitement. "onmymorningpatrolIchasedoffsomegoblinstheyweretryingtostealfromourgardensbuttheywerewierdtheywerewearingthesedragonhatsanditlookedreallystupidanywaysafteraftercompletingmymorningpatrolgotbacktothevillageandwascalledintotheGreatHallDadandMustowerethereaboutthisprophecythinganditwasreallycoolweregoingonthissearchanditslikesomewhereinanotherwaitwhatdidhemeanbyotherahwhocaresitsgoingtobeawesomeandweregoingtobeawesomewhenwefindthe-"  
  
"Winda." Wynn interjected noting her sisters face growing redder. "Slow down, and _breathe_!"  
  
Winda did so, stopping in the middle of her rant to take a deep inhale, creating a temporary vacuum force as she did so, unfortunately dislodging several loose papers in the process.  
  
"DARK MAGICIAN!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, releasing a sudden burst of wind, knocking even more things loose. Wynn sighed and directed her familiar to start with the process of picking things up.  
  
"What about the Dark Magician?" Wynn asked.  
  
"Dad wants us to go find the Dark Magician!" Winda said, finally.  
  
"Wait. What? Why?"  
  
"I dunno, I kinda forgot some of the details." Winda said, still ecstatic. She took another deep breath, and was about to shout again, before Wynn stopped her.  
  
"Is this why your here?"  
  
"Yeah!" Managing to remain somewhat calm. "Dad sent me to get you."  
  
"Well, it has been a while since I've been home." Wynn said.  
  
"So your coming!"  
  
"Yes, sis. I want to talk with Dad."  
  
"Awesome!" Winda leaped out of her seat and into the air with a burst of wind, before gently floating back to the floor, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the ceiling. "C'mon! We'll ride Gusto back! We can go right now!"  
  
Winda grabbed her sisters hands and began pulling her outside.  
  
"Wait! Wait!"  
  
"Why?" Winda asked.  
  
"I need get ready!"  
  
"What do you need?!" Winda asked, clearly antsy to get going.  
  
"Well, I need to get properly dressed for starters."  
  
It was only now that Winda realized that her sister was still in her nightclothes.  
  
"Oh... right... Well, don't take too long." Winda stepped outside, while Wynn closed the door.  
  


* * *

  
Thankfully, the waiting wasn't too long, though Winda had extreme difficulty keeping still during the time. Her thoughts raced. She was going to meet the _Dark Magician_. With her sister! This was going to be awesome!  
  
"Don't you think so, Gulldo?" Gulldo was her familiar. Their very souls were linked. So of course the bird was happily flitting about, doing twirls in the sky. At her wish, the bird flew close to her, and she took him in her arms. Gulldo gave a cheerful squawk.  
  
"You get to meet him too!"  
  
At this, Gulldos gave a shriek of excitement, sharing in his masters elation.  
  
"I wonder if he has any familiars? He probably has like, 5 familiars, no 10! Hey, do you think he might apprentice us? That would be awesome! I could totally be the next Dark Magician Girl. I wonder if I'd get a costume like hers. Maybe-"  
  
A sudden noise from behind her caused Winda to jump into the air. Gulldos shrieked and spread his wings. Fortunately, it was only Wynn, stepping out of the house.  
  
Though Winda was two years older, people often mistook the sisters for twins. They both had extremely similar features, the same colored hair, the same colored eyes (though Wynn lacked the Gusto emblem), and even a preference for similar manner of dress. Wynn wore a white shirt and blue miniskirt, along with a similar robe to that which Winda sported.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" Winda asked upon landing.  
  
"Yes, everything's packed." She gestured to the pockets and sleeves of her robe, enchanted to hold more than what they normally carried.  
  
"Alright! Daigusto Gulldos!" Winda shouted. Syncronizing her energies directly with that of Gulldo, the bird grew immensely. She leaped up onto him, and Wynn did the same, while her familiar, Peti, landed in Wynn's lap.  
  
With a mighty thrust of his wings, they took off.  
  


* * *

  
The trip back was uneventful, but quick. With the wind magic of both sisters, the travel time was even less than before, and not to long later, they were back in Mist Valley. Winda brought Gulldos down to land at the edge of the village, at the foot of the Mist Valley Shrine.  
  
As the sisters lept off, there was a flash of green, and Gulldos transformed back into his smaller state. Gulldo landed on his masters shoulder, and then they headed up to the peak of the temple.  
  
The Mist Valley Shrine was an ancient structure, so old that it's construction was lost to the haze of time. The valley's original inhabitants might have known about it, but they were long gone. Their heirs, the Gusto tribe continued their tradition of protecting the peace of the valley, in honor of the Goddess of the shrine. The sisters father, Windaar, was the Gusto Sage, who managed the shrine, and thus, was the Chief of the Gusto tribe. As the Priestess, Winda would be next in line for the duty.  
  
At the top of the shrine, both sisters were surprised at the turn out.  
  
"Dad? Uncle Musto? Aunt Caam? Kamui?" Wynn noted the family members present. In addition to them, Kamui's wife Reeze, and various other members of the tribe had shown up, apparently to send them off.  
  
Windaar stepped forwards.  
  
"I assume Winda has informed you of the situation."  
  
"I got the gist of it." Wynn said. "You want us to seek out the Dark Magician."  
  
"Yes. I can foresee a danger the likes of which we've never faced before. Though unfortunately, I cannot predict the true nature of this threat, in all futures I have glimpsed, it comes to pass. We cannot afford to be reactive in this situation, we need allies." Musto explained.  
  
"We're planning on sending communications to the Gem-Knights as well." Windaar explained.  
  
"They're already busy with the Laval conflict. It's pointless." Reeze said, her voice dull and disinterested.  
  
"That has yet to be determined." Musto admonished.  
  
"Regardless, the Dark Magician isn't the only ally we are seeking. If you find any others who might be willing on your journey, by all means, ask them for help." Caam said.  
  
"Journey? Do you know where we'll be going?" Wynn asked.  
  
"To the Dark Magician obviously!" Winda shouted.  
  
"Please begin the casting." Windaar instructed his brother. Musto began concentrating, sitting down in front of the altar, and chanting.  
  
"We'll be sending you through a Dimensional Fissure. Divinations have located the Dark Magicians aura signature." Windaar explained. "We'll be sending you an area near where he is located. The Divine Wind should help you find him once you are there. Wynn you clearly need to be caught up on some things. Come with me. I'll explain more."  
  
Windaar took his younger daughter to the side of the temple to speak to her. Meanwhile, Kamui approached Winda.  
  
"I must admit, I'm kind of jealous that your the one getting sent on this quest." Her cousin said.  
  
"Yeah, well, you have a child to watch." She said. "By the way, tell Pilica I said hi!"  
  
"Your niece will miss you." Kamui replied.  
  
"But she'll be able to remain behaved and not run off to wreak havoc with her 'Auntie Windy'." Reeze said dryly. "Maybe she'll finally go to sleep at decent time instead of running off into the swamps at night doing Goddess knows what."  
  
"Aww, she's just got a healthy curiosity." Winda said. "She caught a Unifrog a couple days ago to study it."  
  
"So that explains the puncture marks in the couch."  
  
"Wait what?!"  
  
"Regardless. Good luck on your quest." Kamui interjected.  
  
"I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back! Pilica especially!"  
  
Windaar and Wynn returned to front of the shrine. Wynn took her place next to Winda as Musto's casting began.  
  
"Go in the blessings of the Goddess and Her Grace." Windaar spoke the traditional Gusto farewell. "May the Wind ever guide your path."  
  
The vortex opened up immediately afterwards, dimensional energy crackling around the entire temple. Before either of the sisters could react, bolts of energy struck them. Instead of harm, they were wreathed in energy. Before they could react, they were pulled into the vortex, swirled off into wherever the portal led.

* * *

_I'm shocked there aren't more fanfics focusing on the monsters. There's a ton of stories that can be told using them._

_~Dragonexx_


	2. I Didn't Choose the Thug Life

Of all the things to wake up to, the point-blank smell of rotting garbage had to be one of the worst. Upon regaining consciousness, Winda made the mistake of inhaling deeply, and absorbing everything. Previously, the worst thing she had the misfortune to smell was a Mud Dragon of the Swamp. However, this, was like that, but at least a thousand times worse. Decay, rot, waste, ooze. It was overpowering, and Winda nearly fell back into unconsciousness. Unfortunately, she avoided that by inhaling again. She gagged, and immediately exhaled with as much force as she could muster. She was blasted into the air.  
  
Again, unfortunately, she slammed into some sort of metallic overhang, and face-planted back into the pile of garbage. Now fearing for her own life, she pushed herself up, holding her breath (and unfortunately, holding on to the scent) and flailed about, eventually, managing to get a hold of some sort of solid.  
  
She realized she was lying in sort of metal box. She quickly vaulted over the side and was blessed with solid ground. She breathed a sigh of relief. The smell here was still foul, but significantly less worse than the all-out assault on her nostrils that whatever that box had been. She turned and kicked it. Why would someone waste good metal to hold some refuse?  
  
Winda was cleaning herself off as best she could when she heard moaning behind her, and immediately dropped into a fighting stance, only to realize it was just her sister. Her arrival had been more fortunate, avoiding the box of refuse, though she had still landed in a puddle of what Winda hoped was just water.  
  
“Ugh...” Wynn moaned.  
  
“Are you okay.”  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Wynn said, drying herself off.  
  
She heard a chirp from above her, and looked to see Gulldo and Peti sitting on top of some sort of metal pole. At least they were safe.  
  
Gulldo flew down to land on Winda’s shoulder, though he seemed hesitant to do so after he smelled her.  
  
“Well, I’m sorry! I didn’t pick where I landed!” Winda complained.  
  
“Which brings up the question. Where are we?”  
  
Winda looked around. “Looks like some sort of hallway.”  
  
Wherever they were, it was almost pitch dark. She couldn’t see the sky, and the only source of light came from what must have been the exit. The sisters began walking towards it.  
  
“We were supposed to be transported close to the Dark Magician, right?” Wynn asked.  
  
“Yeah.” Winda noticed that the ground was also metal. She drew her staff, and lit it up. The metal was horribly worn, rusted, and corroded, and the entire hallway was littered with refuse. “But what would he be doing in a dump like this?”  
  
Wynn drew her staff and tapped it against the ground, making a clinking sound. “All this metal. What is this place?”  
  
Winda shrugged. She had heard old stories about the lairs where the Allies of Justice were created. Maybe this was one of those forges?  
  
Upon reaching the end of the hallway, the sisters came to a large open area. In the light they could see that whatever structure they were in had clearly seen better days, it was crumbling badly. Directly infront of them was a railing, and stepping up to it they could see it was a wrap around balcony overlooking some sort of large central area. Dotting the side opposite the balcony were various rooms, almost like caves, though they didn’t go far inside. Half torn banners and posters, and dilapidated and broken stalls seemed to indicate that this place was some sort of marketplace, though one that had seen much better days.  
  
The ceiling above it was made of glass, though whatever sky was above the place was pitch dark. Winda realized that not to far above the glass ceiling was another one made of more metal.  
  
She then heard voices. Looking down to the bottom floor she saw several figures gathered next to what appeared to be a crumbled fountain. Whatever the statue had been of was now unrecognizable.  
  
She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but judging from their appearances, they weren’t human.  
  
“They might know where we are.”  
  
“They look like Fiends.” Wynn warned. “I don’t think we should mess with them.”  
  
It was too late however. Winda leaped over the railing, letting the winds carry her down to the bottom floor.  
  
As she approached she overheard their conversation.  
  
“-really it?”  
  
“100% legit.”  
  
“Are you sure you got away?”  
  
“Naw, they never knew I was there! Now let’s talk price.”  
  
“I’ll give you five-hundred.”  
  
“Five-hundred? Are you for real? Is this a joke? Worth way way more than that!”  
  
“A thousand?”  
  
“Hell no!”  
  
“Twelve-hundred!”  
  
“Okay, now I know y’all insulting me! This shit here is both quality and quantity. This ain’t going for less than twenty-thousand.”  
  
“Twenty-thousand?! Are you nuts?”  
  
“Do you know what I went through to get this shit?! Take it or leave it asshole!”  
  
“Hello!” Winda interjected.  
  
The Fiends jumped. Some drew weapons, while others bared their claws. One [green-skinned Fiend](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/e/e5/TerratheTerrible-LOB-NA-C-1E.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090329053137) stepped protectively in front of a crate.  
  
“A Human! You idiot, you were followed!” Hissed a [red-skinned Fiend](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/5/5f/WittyPhantom-LOB-EN-C-UE.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20171026182158).  
  
“I’ve never seen her before!”  
  
“What’s going on?” Winda asked, confused. Ah, didn’t matter, they must know where she was supposed to go. “Where’s the Dark Magician? I need to speak with him?”  
  
“What.”  
  
“Bitch is probably some trippin’ junkie.”  
  
“What’s a-”  
  
“Sis, don’t run ahead like that!” Wynn caught up.  
  
“Oh, hey Wynn! These guys must know where the Dark Magician is.”  
  
“Again, what?” The red-skinned Fiend in a fancy looking suit stepped forwards.  
  
“I don’t think they do...” Wynn said.  
  
“Who are you working for!” The red-skinned fiend asked.  
  
“Of course they do! Why else would Uncle Musto send us here?”  
  
“Musto, who’s Musto? Is that who sent you?”  
  
“So you do know him!” Winda said.  
  
“Boss, I ain’t never heard of no Musto.” Said an oddly colored [horned Fiend](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/6/65/RyuKishin-SDK-NA-C-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20160517115819).  
  
“I SAY WE CUT THEM UP AND ROAST THEIR REMAINS!” A strangely dressed [blue-skinned Fiend](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/b/b9/TheBistroButcher-DB2-EN-C-UE.png/revision/latest?cb=20160527095243) holding a knife in one hand while the other was replaced with a hook suddenly screamed. He brandished his very rusty yet disturbingly sharp implements. “TONIGHT WE FEAST!”  
  
“The Three damn it all, I knew we shouldn’t have brought Romero.”  
  
“I dunno, I am pretty hungry. We didn’t get anything to eat today.” The fat green skinned Fiend spoke up.  
  
“Not you to?” Said the well dressed Fiend who was clearly the boss.  
  
“So can _any_ of you tell me where the Dark Magician is?”  
  
“What, is that some kind of code?”  
  
“What do you mean, ‘code’.” Winda asked, growing frustrated.  
  
“Er sis...” Wynn spoke up.  
  
“What?”  
  
“I think somethings gone wrong.”  
  
“What do you mean.”  
  
“Winda, I don’t think we're supposed to be here.” Wynn explained.  
  
“Why would you say that?” Winda asked. “We’re here to find the Dark Magician!”  
  
“I think something must have gone wrong with the spell.”  
  
“Of course not!” Winda protested, growing frustrated. “Uncle Musto’s divinations are never wrong!”  
  
“What about that time with the Nekogals.”  
  
“I keep telling you that tatoo was-”  
  
Before anything else could be said, everything was drowned out by a noise that seemed like an unholy fusion between an elephants trumpet and a wailing child.  
  
“What the hell?” Winda looked about. “What’s that?”  
  
The Fiends however were terrified. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”  
  
“What’s going on?” Winda asked.  
  
“It’s the fuzz!”  
  
“Boss what do we do?  
  
“Hello?” Winda asked.  
  
“WE GOTTA BOOK IT!” Shouted the blue skinned fiend.  
  
“What about the evidence!”  
  
“Calm down everyone! I’ll think of a way out.” Said the well dressed Fiend.  
  
“Hey! Anyone want to answer my questions?”  
  
“What about the evidence boss!” Repeated one of the Fiends.  
  
“We gotta scrap it!”  
  
“Shove it in Terra!” One suggested. “That worked last time!”  
  
“What? No! Fuck you I’m not doing that again!” Said a fat green Fiend.  
  
“We don’t have a choice!”  
  
“That was horrible to pass last time. It still hurts down there!”  
  
“Shut up and eat it, or we’re all screwed!”  
  
“Calm down everyone!” The well dressed Fiend insisted.  
  
Winda was being ignored. Winda _hated_ being ignored.  
  
“Will _someone_ answer my questions!” She shouted, releasing a blast of wind at the same time. Not enough to hurt, but knocking them off balance and getting their attention.  
  
Unfortunately, before anyone else could say anything, the glass ceiling shattered. The Fiends screamed as glass shards came raining down on them. Winda and Wynn held out their hands, and gusts of wind blasted the shards away from themselves.  
  
They then looked up to see numerous strange [black suited figures](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/3/3f/KozmoSoartroopers-BOSH-EN-SR-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20160111101313) descending. Metal wing like appendages attached to their suits slowed their descent. Each figure carried some sort of metal device in their hands.  
  
“Forget the loot, just run!”  
  
“The building is surrounded!” One of the newcomers spoke. “There’s no escape! Surrender!”  
  
“I AIN’T GOIN’ TO THE PIT! YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” Screamed the one named Romero. He threw his knife at one of them, hitting directly on. However, the blade merely bounced off the armor harmlessly.  
  
“Dammit Romero!”  
  
“Targets are hostile! Deploy Smoke Grenade!”  
  
Several of the black armored figures held up their devices. From an opening on one end, something was shot out. When the projectiles hit the ground, a massive cloud of smoke almost instantly emerged, obscuring everything.  
  
Winda’s couldn’t see, and she began coughing heavily. Gulldo panicked, and took off into the air. It was then that she heard the sounds of fighting. Screams and bright flashes all around her!  
  
She ducked down, lucky enough to narrowly dodge one of the flashes. She heard another scream nearby.  
  
“Wynn? Wynn?! Where are you?!” She managed to choke out, wandering about. What the hell was happening?  
  
The sounds of fighting continued. Realizing that she couldn’t do anything if she couldn’t see, she let loose another blast of wind, clearing the smoke in a small area around her.  
  
There, she saw one of the black armored figures turn towards her, weapon ready. Before it could attack, Winda held out her hand. A blast of wind send the figure flying away. It faded into the smoke cloud, though she could hear the sound of a crash.  
  
Before she could continue her search, she suddenly felt something strike her in the back. Instantly, immense pain shot through her, as if all her nerves were on fire. She couldn’t even scream, as all her muscles seized up, as if her body had a mind of it’s own. She collapsed to the ground, writhing feebly.  
  
Through the pain, she heard one of the armored figures speak. “All hostiles neutralized.”  
  
“Clearing air.” There was a flash, and the smoke cloud quickly dispersed. Winda realized she was lying next to the box the Fiends had been arguing over.  
  
One of the armored figures stepped over to it and removed the cover. It picked up one of the contents. A strange vial of some sort of purple fluid.  
  
“[Nutrient Z](http://duellinks.gamea.co/file/content_top/umi92hxs/v0ejo1ws/eb2cb7e98d3595b3a8c98bdf50612a398644dba1_600.png).” It said. “At least 100 vials of contraband. Just as suspected.”  
  
“I-I’ve never seen that before. I swear, I didn’t know that was in the crate!” Winda recognized the voice of the well dressed red-skinned Fiend.  
  
“Take them all in.”  
  
 _Take us where?_ Winda wondered. She managed to move her head. Enough that she could see Wynn lying in a heap as one of the armored figures approached her. She gasped, and anger bubbled up in her.  
  
“Don’t you dare touch her!” Winda cried. Energy surged through her, and she managed to regain control of her body. She pushed herself up, leaning on her staff. The gem in the staff glowed.  
  
Every one of the armored figures immediately opened fire on her, and again, pain surged through her. Her body jerked and spasmed, even as the bright bursts nearly blinded her. She collapsed to the ground.  
  
Winda saw one of the armored figures move to stand over her. Even through all the pain and lack of control, she scowled at them and attempted to speak. “Don’t-t-t-t-t you d-d-dare huuuuurt h-h-her, or I’ll-”  
  
Winda never got to finish her sentence, as the armored figure aimed it’s weapon at her head. There was a bright flash, and then silence.


	3. **** the Police

Winda awoke to the sound of some sort of machine rumbling. Her vision was blurry, but she could tell that she was in motion. Was she inside some sort of vehicle?  
  
She tried to move, but felt pressure on her wrists arms, and legs, realizing that she was bound. When her vision focused, she could see that she was indeed bound. She was forced on all fours in a position facing a wall. Her limbs were bound by some sort of energy cuffs.  
  
She struggled in vain against the bonds for a time.  
  
“Don’t bother.” She heard a voice, recognizing it as the well-dressed red Fiend.  
  
Winda looked around, and could see that the others were bound in a similar manner. She couldn’t see Wynn however.  
  
“Where is my sister?” Winda asked. Her voice sounded strangely raspy, and sent her into a fit of coughing.  
  
“I saw them load her into the other transport.”  
  
“The other what? Transport? Where are they taking us?”  
  
“THE PIT! I AIN’T GOIN’ TO THE PIT! YOU’LL HAVE TO KILL ME YOU GODSDAMNED PIGS! YOU HEAR ME! I AIN’T PLAYING YOUR GAME YOU FREAKS! KILL ME OR I’LL GUT YOU LIKE THE PIGS YOU ARE!” The Blue skinned fiend shouted.  
  
“Romero...” The well dressed fiend spoke.  
  
“I KNOW HOW YOU DO IT. RADIO WAVES IN THE DRINKING WATER! PARASITES IN YOUR DREAMS! CHEMICALS IN THE HOLO! BUT THAT BITCH WILL NOT CONTROL ME!” Romero continued to rant, banging against the floor and wall.  
  
“I SWEAR TO CAIUS, SHUT THE FUCK UP ROMERO!” The well dressed fiend finally lost his temper. “It’s your damned fault were in this mess! I could have talked our way out of this if you hadn’t attacked!”  
  
“I told you we shouldn’t have brought Romero.”  
  
“Shut up, all of you!” The well-dressed Fiend sighed. “Let me think of a way out of this.”  
  
Winda however wasn’t paying attention to the Fiend’s argument. Instead, she concentrated. Electricity crackled down the length of her arms until it struck the energy cuffs, disrupting them. Now able to move her hands, she aimed a shock at the bonds on her legs, disrupting those as well.  
  
Alarms went off, but she didn’t care. She had to rescue Wynn from these kidnappers.  
  
She stood up, taking stock of her situation. Her staff was missing, as well as her robe and her jewelry. Whatever, she’d worry about getting those back later. More concerning was the absence of Gulldo. She could sense that he was okay, though fairly far off and she couldn’t get a good read on his location. At least he was out of harms way.  
  
“What are you doing?” One of the fiends asked.  
  
Winda ignored him. Her sister was in danger. She concentrated, and electricity began building within her, crackling all across her body, illuminating the entire compartment in flickering lights. She gave a cry and held out her hands towards the doors. A massive blast of lightning erupted from her hands, blasting headlong into the door with enough force to blast both of them off their hinges and send them flying. The Fiends screamed in terror. The lights in the compartment went out and the entire vehicle began swerving out of control.  
  
Winda dashed forwards, and leaped out of the vehicle, using a burst of wind to vastly increase her jump height. What she saw outside made her gasp.  
  
She was in a massive city, so big she couldn’t see the edge of it. The buildings were so immensely tall and massive that she couldn’t see the tops of them.  
  
She couldn’t marvel for long though. She was also so high up that she couldn’t even see the ground. She quickly scanned the area, and managed to find a nearby platform. With a gesture, the winds gathered around her, allowing her to glide to the platform, though even then she only barely managed to grab on to the edge.  
  
She pulled herself over the railing, and now that she was on solid ground she was free to gawk. The buildings were so tall that she couldn’t even see the sky, leaving the area in perpetual shadow, lit only by streetlamps and glowing signs.  
  
Winda leaned over the railing, staring in awe at vehicles flying through the skies with ease, most lacking any sort of wings. Everything was lit up in a multitude of colors and moving lights, each drawing Winda’s attention from the last. It was actually overwhelming and slightly dizzying.  
  
“Surrender!” She heard a mechanical sounding shout, jolting her out of her trance. The black armored figures were approaching her, flying through the air.  
  
“Where is my sister!” She demanded, backing away from the railing, all the while.  
  
“Get on the ground or we will shoot!” One of the kidnappers shouted.  
  
Not wanting to give them the chance to do that, Winda held up her hands and shouted. “ _Windstorm of Etaqua!_ ”  
  
The spell released a massive whirlwind that tore through the area, sending the flying troopers careening through the air, to land with a series of violent crashes upon the ground.  
  
They weren’t down however, most quickly rising form the impact and opening fire. With a wind augmented leap, Winda jumped out of the way of the glowing projectiles, knowing how even one hit could potentially end the fight. Augmenting her speed, she dashed forwards, striking one of the kidnappers with a wind enhanced kick, sending them flying into a parked vehicle with enough force to dent it. Allowing the wind to affect her, she was also blasted back by the impact, crashing into another enemy and sending him to the ground. Keeping her momentum, she rolled as she cast a spell again. A violent burst of wind came crashing though the area, blasting more enemies off their feet.  
  
Before they could rise again, Winda made a chopping gesture and shouted. “ _Majespecter Cyclone!_ ”  
  
Another whirlwind went surging forwards picking up the enemies and swirling them about, before forcefully launching them in various directions, where they lay still, moaning.  
  
Now to find her sisters transport. Winda stepped away from them, heading back over to the railing, and scanned the skies, but could find nothing.  
  
She looked down, and was perplexed when she saw vines covering the area. “What is-”  
  
Winda only had a moment of warning, but it was enough to cartwheel out of the way as a series of vines suddenly extended towards her. She released a burst of wind, knocking them away, and dropping back into her fighting stance.  
  
“So, I got a distress call, thinking it’s merely some routine creature attack, when imagine my surprise, I find this!” She heard a female voice.  
  
Winda looked up, to see a female monster descending from above, supported by some sort of giant flower petal. She had purple skin and wore an outfit made of leaves and flowers. She flicked her white hair as she stepped off of the plant.  
  
“Who the hell are you?” Winda asked.  
  
“What’s more interesting is, who are you? Some minion of the Evil Heroes? Then again, you were brought in with the Fiend Sword Baron’s men. So I doubt it. At least the Evil Heroes have _class_.” The strange Plant woman threw back her head and gave a mocking laugh. “If your hanging around with those losers, then jeez, your really slumming it! What are you, their communal skank?”  
  
Winda had no idea who these people she was referring to were, or what a ‘skank’ was, but could tell this woman was mocking her.  
  
“Oh, did I strike a nerve?” She laughed again. “That’s not all that’s about to be struck. I am Elemental Hero Poison Rose. Surrender now, and I’ll go easy on you.”  
  
The nerve of this kidnapper, calling herself a hero! Winda wasn’t going to give her a chance to capture her. She’d beat the location of her sister out of her.  
  
Without warning, Winda made a slicing motion, and a blade of rending air was shot forwards. Poison Rose dodged out of the way, rolling behind one of the parked vehicles.  
  
It was then that Winda noticed the trees around the lot, only barely avoiding the counter attack as the branches grew with extreme speed, attempting to snare her.  
  
As she landed, she unleashed a bolt of lightning at the vehicle. Poison Rose dashed away from it, a vine extending from her wrist to wrap around a light post and haul her up before the vehicle burst into flames.  
  
From up there, she held out her hands. “ _Blossom Bombardment_!”  
  
A storm of red petals came crashing towards her. Not knowing what kind of magic it was, but figuring it wouldn’t be good, Winda countered. “ _Cyclone!_ ”  
  
A whirlwind gathered up the petals and ejected them skywards, whereupon they exploded.  
  
Winda then heard another shout. “ _Seeds of Deception!_ ”  
  
Poison Rose hurled several seeds across the area, landing in various cracks. Almost instantly, roots erupted outwards, grabbing Winda by the ankle and forcefully hurling her.  
  
She was launched into the air, where she quickly righted herself, only to be grabbed again and swung violently about. She was smashed into the glass window of a vehicle enough to crack it.  
  
Winda cried out in pain, but roots were relentless, tossing, striking, whipping her. She was smashed against the ground, more vehicles, walls, posts, and even other roots.  
  
“Hah!” Poison rose sneered. “There’s no escape from this. I’d just surrender if I were you!”  
  
“Not a chance!” Taking advantage of a moment of clarity, Winda held out her hand. “ _Raimei!_ ”  
  
A bolt of lightning struck Poison Rose, and the Plant girl screamed in pain. The root holding on to Winda went slack, enough for her to get her bearings. She fired a bolt at the root, burning through it. She fell slightly, adjusting her fall to kick off the bulk of the root and go sailing towards the stunned Poison Rose.  
  
She hit head on, tackling her off the pole she was balancing on. The two wrestled in the air briefly, before Winda released another gale. Poison Rose was blasted downwards to slam into the solid ground hard, while Winda spun off to the side, landing on her feet.  
  
Poison Rose wasn’t down however. She struggled back to her knees. “You’ll _pay_ for that!” She snarled.  
  
She pointed at Winda, and the roots resumed their motion, dashing straight for Winda. She leaped out of the way, again rushing towards Poison Rose.  
  
“ _Gusto Whirlwind_!” She shouted.  
  
Winda’s speed increased, and she acrobatically flipped through the attacks Poison Rose directed at her, making her way through the barrage to strike her enemy in the face.  
  
Poison Rose stumbled back and then attempted to strike back, only to receive a wind augmented punch straight to the gut. She doubled over in pain, which allowed Winda to flip backwards, catching her with a wind-enhanced flip kick to the chin.  
  
Poison Rose was sent flying backwards, tumbling across the ground. Winda dashed forwards, only for a vine to get in the way, knocking her off course. She flipped, landing right again, and charging forwards at the recovered Poison Rose.  
  
The two traded blows, striking and blocking, dodging and countering, until Poison Rose landed a kick to Winda’s breasts. Despite her assumptions, her opponent was actually pretty skilled in melee combat.  
  
She stumbled back, dazed in pain from the dirty blow, only to see a sharpened blade of wood emerge from her opponents wrist. Her fingers on her other hand sharpened into claws and she charged forwards, snarling.  
  
Despite Winda’s defensive efforts, her enemy landed several blows. A cut with the blade across her cheek, a slash with the claws on her calves, a cut with the blade on her shoulder, a swipe across her back with the claws.  
  
Winda managed to disengage, flipping back and shooting lighting at the same time, only to be tripped by a root.  
  
“Gotcha!” Poison Rose charged towards her, claws outstretched. She took several more cuts before managing to break away again, this time leaping over a vehicle.  
  
Winda was growing frustrated. She wished Gulldo were here, then they could become Daigusto Gulldos and this fight would be _over_. But sadly, that wasn’t in the cards.  
  
Instead, she had to dodge a barrage of poison barbs from her enemy. However this did give her the opening she needed. Winda countered, exhaling a blast of wind to knock aside the barbs and sending Poison Rose flying back once again. She impacted hard against a vehicle, enough to dent it severely. She attempted to continue standing, only to be blasted by another bolt of lightning.  
  
She slumped to the ground, dazed. The vines and roots in the area stopped moving.  
  
Winda breathed heavily as she limped over to her fallen foe, only barely taking stock of her own injuries. She was bruised, bleeding from multiple cuts, had several irritating splinters, and now there was a persistent ringing in her ears.  
  
Poison Rose groaned, and struggled to stand, but fell back to the ground. Winda stood over her, and formed electricity in her hands.  
  
“Alright, where have you kidnappers taken my sister?!”  
  
“Kidnappers? What the fuck? What the hell are you on, Trumpeter Mist?”  
  
“Don’t play dumb with me, kidnapper!” Her hand glowed brighter.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a splashing noise and a shout from a male voice. “ _Fixed Stars Imprisoning Bubbles!_ ”  
  
A massive bubble of water formed around Winda, entrapping her.  
  
“What the hell?!”  
  
She noticed a newcomer appear. A man clad in blue armor and a white cape. He wore a helm with pointed ears reminiscent of a rabbits or a bats, but which left his lower face open.  
  
“Let me out of here!” Winda demanded as she pounded against the bubble.

* * *

  


Bubbleman watched as the strange girl continued to strike at the bubble.  
  
“Don’t bother kid, you’re not getting out of there.”  
  
The girl continued to strike at the bubble, heedless of his advice.  
  
Ignoring her for the moment, her headed over to the fallen Poison Rose, and helped her up.  
  
“Thanks.” She said weakly.  
  
Bubbleman surveyed the area. Scorch marks where lightning had struck, cracks in the ground from impacts or roots, injured Soartroopers, damaged vehicles.  
  
“Quite the fight.”  
  
The girl continued to pound away at the bubble, still unable to escape.  
  
“She seems to think were kidnappers.”  
  
“That’s odd.” Bubbleman observed.  
  
“She’s an idiot, probably on Trumpeter Mist. Was arrested in an abandoned mall with a group of the Fiend Sword Baron’s gangers.”  
  
“I’ll talk to her. See what I can learn.”  
  
“I’m telling you, she’s crazy. You won’t get anything coherent out of her.”  
  
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Bubbleman held up Poison Rose while she created a giant flower which she sat on, resting.  
  
He then approached the girl, still attempting to break free of the bubble.  
  
“So, kid, what’s your name?”  
  
“I’m not giving my name to kidnappers!”  
  
“You seem to be mistaken, were not kidnappers.”  
  
“Then let me out of this thing!” The girl demanded, still pounding away it.  
  
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that right now.”  
  
“Fine, then I’ll do it my self!” Electricity began crackling around the girl.  
  
“Wait!” Bubbleman shouted, but it was too late. The girl unleashed the electricity, which immediately rebounded again and again, lighting up the sphere to a near blinding level. He could hear her screams within it.  
  
When the sparks faded, the girl lay at the bottom of the bubble, unmoving.  
  
Poison Rose burst into laughter, while Bubbleman sighed. That bubble was a variant of the spell _Drowning Mirror Force_. She had shocked herself into unconsciousness.  
  
He sighed again as he activated his communicator. “This is Bubbleman. Requesting a transport back to headquarters.”  
  


* * *

**  
**

_Yes, I am aware that MST does not negate._

_~Dragonexx_


	4. "Enhanced" Interrogation Techniques

“Winda Gusto. Of Clan Gusto.”  
  
“ _Alright, name recorded. Date of Birth_?”  
  
“3rd age, Year 876, Chatvaari, 15th day of the Month of Moon.”  
  
“ _Error_.”  
  
“What do you mean error?! That’s my birthday!”  
  
“ _Please wait for assistance_.”  
  
“Assistance with what?!”  
  
A light lit up outside the interrogation chamber, as the mechanical bird turned away from the girl it was interrogating.  
  
“Well that didn’t last very long.” Poison Rose observed dryly. The [Raidraptor Singing Lanius](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/6/61/RaidraptorSingingLanius-MP16-EN-C-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20160901210821) apparently couldn’t process the date she had given.  
  
“We’ll have to do it manually.” Bubbleman stated. He looked into the chamber. Winda sat in a chair, her hands cuffed (this time with metal) to the table.  
  
“Why bother.” Asked a third figure. He was clad in gray and black armor and had long blue hair. A visor obscured his eyes. “She’s just another punk like the rest of them. Just interrogate her then lock her up in the Pit.”  
  
“I’m not so sure, Blade Master.” Bubbleman replied, stroking his chin.  
  
“Don’t know what you see old man. You’re just wasting your time.” Blade Master snarled. He headed into the chamber from the observation room, and glared at the girl.  
  
“Where is my sister?” Winda demanded.  
  
“This isn’t how this works.” Blade Master answered. “I ask the questions here. Tell me what you know.”  
  
“Know about what?” Winda asked.  
  
“Don’t play dumb, bitch. You were caught with the Fiend Sword Baron’s men and 116 vials of Nutrient Z. Where is he keeping the rest of his supply, and who is he planning to sell that filth to?”  
  
“I have no idea what your talking about, asshat!” Winda replied.  
  
“You’re working for the Fiend Sword Baron.”  
  
“No I’m not you liar! I’ve never even heard of this weirdo! The only barons I’ve met are Baron Ytterbite and Baron Feldspar.”  
  
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.” Blade master clenched his fists, and blades spouted from his wrists, which he pointed at Winda. “Now, consider your next words carefully.”  
  
“Go to the Abyss.” Winda spat.  
  
Bubbleman swore under his breath, and rushed towards the door. He calmly opened it and asked. “Blade Master, a word please.”  
  
Blade Master scowled, but sheathed his blades, and followed Bubbleman out.  
  
“What do you think your doing?!” Bubbleman asked, once the door was shut.  
  
“Getting answers.”  
  
“That’s not how you do that!”  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry, old man. I should be more gentle with these scumbags, give them tea and crumpets, and have a jolly old time!”  
  
“You know what I mean.” Bubbleman said.  
  
“Of course I do. I just think it’s fuckin’ stupid. Not gonna solve crime with a smile and a good attitude. That rubbish can go in the bin. If you want results, strength is the only way. Keep the scum in line.”  
  
“You’d be surprised what a good attitude can net you.” Bubbleman said.  
  
“Rubbish.” Blade Master said, walking away.  
  
“Then observe.” Bubblman said, as he headed back towards the interrogation room, before turning with a wry grin. “Unless your afraid of being proven wrong.”  
  
Blade Master snarled, but remained.  
  
Bubbleman walked into the room and calmly took a seat opposite Winda. Poison Rose and Blade Master followed him in.  
  
“I apologize for my colleague’s rudeness.” Bubbleman said.  
  
Winda grunted but said nothing.  
  
“We seemed to have some trouble processing the date you gave us.” Bubbleman continued. “It doesn’t match up with the standard calendar.”  
  
“It’s my birthday!” Winda insisted.  
  
“Yes, yes, I’m quite aware. Perhaps you could tell us your age and the season you were born in, and we could approximate details.”  
  
“I’m eighteen. Born in the middle of Autumn.” Winda answered.  
  
“Ah.”  
  
“ _Date recorded._ ” The Singing Lanius spoke, in a mechanical voice.  
  
“And there we go. Now, place of residence?”  
  
“Mist Valley.” Winda replied.  
  
The Raidraptor turned to Bubbleman, and in his HUD he saw the information it had gathered, as well as the security footage. She was actually a fairly skilled fighter.  
  
“Winda Gusto.” He observed. “A bit on the nose.”  
  
“This coming from the guy named Bubbleman. Who works with someone called Poison Rose. And isn’t that jerk’s name Blade Master.”  
  
“Hey!”  
  
“Oh, that’s not my name, more of a code name or identity while on duty.”  
  
“Huh.” Winda paused. “Wait, what duty?!”  
  
“We are the HEROs. tasked with ensuring the safety and protection of the peoples of this city. You are currently in our headquarters.”  
  
“How could you not know that?!” Poison Rose asked. “You really must be on Trumpeter Mist. Should have known with a place like ‘Mist Valley’. Certainly smells like a junkie.”  
  
“Well I’m sorry!” Winda snapped. “If a portal randomly dropped you face-first into a pile of garbage you’d be smelling like junk too!”  
  
“A portal.” Bubbleman paused in thought, then came to a realization. “You’re from a different world.”  
  
“ _I’m on a different world?!_ ” Winda exclaimed.  
  
“It appears we have a lot to talk about.” This would require further investigation. “Are you comfortable?”  
  
Winda calmed down, as she looked at the handcuffs that still bound her to the table.  
  
“I see.” Bubbleman raised his gauntlet and pressed several buttons on it, entering the proper passcode. In a second, the handcuffs released. Winda rubbed her wrists.  
  
“Have you gone barmy?!” Blade Master exclaimed.  
  
“I think it’s a good move.” A female voice said. It was warm and welcoming.  
  


**_______________________________________________________________________________**

  
Winda looked up from her wrists to see a [new figure](https://66.media.tumblr.com/64c0853b83b34b462bebb6cb7dd1db45/tumblr_no0efbiT2p1rie4kjo1_400.jpg) had entered the room. She had ash white skin and wore a red bodysuit that left almost nothing to the imagination, partially because it was extremely skin tight, partially because it was cut in seemingly random places, revealing more skin. She wore a golden headpiece, and mismatched thigh boots to complete the look. Winda felt the temperature in the room take a notable increase, becoming more comfortable.  
  
“Ah, Burstinatrix. Were you listening in?”  
  
“I heard the latter parts.” She said. “It appears we have a confused visitor from a foreign world.”  
  
“It would seem so.”  
  
“Hello, Winda. I am Elemental Hero Burstinatrix. Before we start with out questions, why don’t we let you freshen up a bit. You’re quite banged up.” She indicated the numerous cuts, bruises, and burns on Winda’s body. “I can take you to Elemental Hero Steam Healer. He’ll be able to help.”  
  
Winda paused. “I got this myself.”  
  
Now that she was free of the manacles she stood up clasped her hands together. “[ _Blessings for Gusto_](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/1/18/BlessingsforGusto-HA05-EN-SR-UE.png/revision/latest?cb=20120504213422)!”  
  
Nothing happened. Instead, Winda felt a sudden wave of weakness come over her. She griped her head and stumbled about, almost falling over. What the heck?  
  
“Magic depletion.” Bubbleman said. “Not enough magical energy left to cast the spell.”  
  
“Steam Healer it is.” Burstinatrix said. She placed her arm around Winda. “Follow me.”  
  
“O-okay.”  
  
Burstinatrix lead her out of the room and down several hallways. As they passed, Winda realized how large the structure was. Were she not out of magic energy she would have loved to speed around the building, seeing how large it was.  
  
Burstinatrix lead her to a small room, barely large enough for 4 people.  
  
“Is this the Steam Healer?” Winda asked.  
  
“No, it’s an elevator.”  
  
“A what?”  
  
Burstinatrix pressed several buttons on a panel, and Winda felt them moving again, like they were in another vehicle. They were heading upwards.  
  
The “elevator” opened, revealing an entirely different area. The air was humid and warm, though it was relaxing. Instead of metal, the walls were wooden, and the whole area reminded her of the hot springs near Mist Valley.  
  
“You have a hot spring inside a headquarters?” Winda asked.  
  
“It’s not a hot spring, more like a sauna, though it is similar. He doesn’t appear to be here right now, but Elemental Hero Steam Healer designed this facility to heal the injuries of Heroes after returning from missions. It’s good for both cleaning and healing, making use of the waters of the Rain of Mercy.”  
  
Winda was directed into one of the private rooms, containing an empty pool as well as numerous pipes leading into it, and instructed in it’s use. After Burstinatrix left, Winda stripped and what followed was one of the most relaxing experiences of her life (warm water, on command!). Water poured from the pipes into the pool, while steam filled the room. As the steam touched her, she felt her injuries begin to heal, the cuts closing, the bruses fading and the burns disappearing. When she lowered herself into the water, the process accelerated. The bloodstains, sap, splinters, and dirt on her were easily washed away. Winda relaxed, letting the waters do their work.

  
**___________________________________________________________________________________________**

  
“I don’t get what your doing, old man. Is this some sort of ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine?” Blade Master spoke.  
  
“Yes... and no.” Bubbleman responded.  
  
“The hell do you mean?”  
  
“After studying the footage of the incident, it was clear that the kid was confused. Moreover, I observed that she always responded to aggression, with more aggression. I took a guess and figured if we showed her kindness, she’d respond in the same way.”  
  
“That. That was your plan. Some big goddamn hugbox? What? Have you gone soft in your old age? That brat attacked a security convoy, destroying a prisoner transport and freeing all the prisoners within. If we weren’t so soft, scum like that wouldn’t dare do something like that.”  
  
“I’m not that old. But I’ll explain, as it seems like a youngster like you lacks the worldliness to figure it out.”  
  
Blade Master snorted, but said nothing.  
  
“It’s all well and good to be the ‘blade that cuts through evil’, taking down villains and evildoers and all that heroism business, but in truth, it’s just treating the symptoms, not the disease.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Poison Rose asked.  
  
“Have you ever given any thought into where criminals come from?”  
  
“Does it matter?” Blade Master spat. “If they don’t want to face us, they they shouldn’t commit crimes.  
  
“It’s not that simple. While simple greed, cruelty, and want are definitely motivators there’s also inequality, poverty, fear, desperation. While we’ve done a good job keeping the top layers in check, the lower levels of Emeraldopolis are a mess.”  
  
“I think I get a bit.” Poison Rose said. “It really is a shithole down there. Even Security doesn’t go too far down unless they absolutely have to.”  
  
"Gangs, warlords, poverty, scavenging, ferals. Not counting the ferals, the trouble from monsters can be sourced back to desperation and despair. While much of it was magnified in the Galaxy Incident, these problems have been around for ages.” Bubbleman smiled “While we are limited in what we can do due to our duty as heroes, it’s worth doing what we can. Both treating the disease and the symptoms.”  
  
“Sounds like a load of bleeding heart nonsense” Blade Master answered.  
  
“Well, you could look the part where I’ve gotten the kid to cooperate where you failed.”  
  
Blade Master snorted, but said nothing and left.  
  
“It’s a lot to think about.” Poison Rose said.  
  
“You’re both young, it might be hard to see.”  
  
“I still think that girls an idiot though.”  
  
“She’s certainly impulsive.” Bubbleman conceded with a grin. “But she’s young, as well. Plenty of time to learn.”

**______________________________________________________________________________________________**

  
After exiting the bath, Winda found her clothes folded up outside, cleaned, with the tears fixed flawlessly. She wished she had her jewelery, cloak, and staff, but at least clean clothes were good.  
  
She found Burstinatrix waiting outside the facility, ready to take her back.  
  
Upon arriving, she found that Blade Master was gone. Good, that guy was an asshole.  
  
“So, why don’t you tell us your story?” Bubbleman asked, taking a seat.  
  
“Where’s my sister?” Winda asked first.  
  
“She was in a different transport. She’s likely held in a different area. You can see her once you tell us why you’re here.” Bubbleman said. "Don't worry, were the good guys."  
  
Winda leaped into her story, or as much of it as she could remember, this time remembering to talk slower, and pause for breath, while also leaving out what others might call “extraneous details”.  
  
“You’re seeking the Dark Magician?” Poison Rose asked with shock.  
  
“Why does everyone react that way?”  
  
“It’s just, you picked a strange place to come to if your looking for him.” Bubbleman explained.  
  
“Uncle Musto’s divinations are never wrong! If he sent us here, then we have to be here.” Winda insisted.  
  
“I’m not doubting him, just that in a place like this, you have your work cut out for you.”  
  
“What is this place anyways?” Winda asked.  
  
“You are on the city-planet of Emeraldopolis. Also known as [Kozmotown](https://52f4e29a8321344e30ae-0f55c9129972ac85d6b1f4e703468e6b.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/products/pictures/1075778.jpg).” Burstinatrix said, entering the room once again. This time she carried 3 mugs. She placed one in front of Winda and handed another to Poison Rose.  
  
“Not one for me?” Bubbleman asked.  
  
“Not when you still owe me for lunch last week.” She said with a grin.  
  
“Fair enough.” Bubbleman chuckled.  
  
“What is this?” Winda asked.  
  
“Hot chocolate.”  
  
“Hot… chocolate?” Winda had never heard of such a thing.  
  
“Drink it, you look thirsty.”  
  
Winda lifted the mug. The liquid was brown and opaque, reminiscent of coffee. True to it’s name, it was hot, with steam wafting from the mug. She held it close and sniffed it, and to her delight it smelled inviting. To her even greater delight it tasted amazing. She hoped it wasn't coffee. She wasn't allowed to have coffee anymore.  
  
“Wow.”  
  
There was a buzz from outside the room.  
  
“Come in.” Bubbleman said.  
  
A small plant like figure peeked into the room.  
  
“Knospe?” Poison Rose said.  
  
“We just received an alert.”  
  
“An alert?”  
  
“Concerning transport A-034”  
  
“What’s going on?” Winda asked.  
  
“That’s the transport that was supposed to be carrying your sister. What happened? I thought it already arrived at headquarters? Avian was supposed to see to that.” Bubbleman asked.  
  
“Well, it was attacked before it made it even half way here. Avian was brought back in, and he was banged up pretty bad.” Knopse said. “Just come with me.”  
  
“What happened to my sister?!” Winda leaped up, knocking over the mug.  
  
“Come with us.” Bubbleman said. “We’ll find out.”  
  
Knospe lead them to another room, where a device was mounted. At her direction, a moving image appeared, like some sort of scrying.  
  
“This was taken from the security cameras of a nearby shop. Observe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So less action in this chapter, but more interaction and set up. I had a lot of fun designing traits of the Heroes here. Also, it just occurred to me that the first 3 chapters of this story ended with Winda getting shocked into unconsciousness.


	5. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Prison

_Earlier..._  
  
Wynn came to, and first realized that she was moving. Her vision was blurry at first, but quickly came into focus. She remained quiet, taking stock of her situation.  
  
She was bound by her legs, ankles, arms and wrists, forced on all fours in a rather humiliating position. The bonds were made with some sort of energy and her struggles against them proved to be in vain. She looked around, and noticed that the other Fiends were bound in a similar manner. They were in some sort of vehicle, though where they were being taken, she didn’t know.  
  
Most of her equipment was missing. Her cloak, her staff, and her jewelry were all gone. Peti was nowhere to be seen either. She could sense her, though she was far away. Thankfully safe. More worrying was the fact that she couldn’t see Winda.  
  
“What happened.” She asked. Her voice was slurred a bit, most likely a side effect of whatever stunning she had been subjected to.  
  
“We were caught.” Said the fat green-skinned Fiend. She remembered his name was Terra.  
  
“By who?”  
  
“Soartroopers.” Terra said. “Security came out of nowhere. We scouted the place beforehand!”  
  
“So, where are they they taking us?” Wynn asked.  
  
“Most likely to the station for processing, and then the Pit.” Terra said softly.  
  
“Any way out of this?” Asked another fiend. This time the gray skinned one.  
  
“Dunno, let me think.”  
  
Wynn ignored their debate. This was clearly a mix-up, ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting lumped in with these criminals.  
  
“Where’s my sister?”  
  
“The other girl you were with?” Terra said. “Probably in the other transport.”  
  
 _Damn_. Wynn thought to herself. If this was a misunderstanding, then she would simply explain their situation to security when they arrived, and get everything cleared up. Unfortunately, Winda was nothing if not impulsive. She had no choice but to pray to Her Grace that her sister didn’t jump to conclusions and do something stupid.  
  
She remained silent for much of the ride, going over how she would explain things to security, when suddenly, the transport shook violently. Alarms went off.  
  
“What’s going on?” Wynn asked.  
  
“Don’t know!” Terra responded.  
  
The transport shook even more violently, jostling Wynn around and slamming her face into the floor. She grimaced from the pain, and felt something wet dripping down her face. Great, she was bleeding now.  
  
The next impact was even more forceful, the entire vehicle jerking. The energy bonds holding her dissipated, as the lights in the compartment went out.  
  
There was the moment of quiet, a brief instant of both confusion and apprehension, before the horrid feeling of falling began.  
  
The transport spun out of control, slamming all the occupants into wall after wall. Wynn tried to stabilize herself, but the impacts were far too constant to keep herself upright for long. Eventually, she felt something solid slam into her head, moments before she blacked out.  
  
Wynn came to, to find that the impacts had stopped. The next thing she noticed was the immense pain. Everything hurt. She took what stock she could. She was bleeding from multiple cuts, there were bruises all over her body, and probably some broken bones.  
  
She tested her legs, finding that thankfully, they weren’t broken. She tried to stand, instead crying out in pain when she put pressure on her right arm.  
  
 _Okay, that one’s broken._ She inhaled deeply, feeling more pain. Some ribs were likely broken as well.  
  
Carefully maneuvering, she managed to stand, though not without some pain. All around her were the unconscious bodies of the Fiends. It was then that she realized that the light wasn’t coming from the lamps on the ceiling, but instead from a tear in the side of the vehicle.  
  
As her hearing refocused, she could hear the sounds of fighting outside. There were the weapons those security officers had been using before, but alongside that was some sort of bestial roaring.  
  
Wynn limped over to the tear, slipping through the crack and avoiding cutting herself on the twisted metal. There, she came face to face with the source of the noise.  
  
A massive [purple scaled dragon](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/5/55/KoumoriDragon-SKE-EN-C-1E.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070830025702) towered over area, while security tried in vain to fight it off. With a thrash of it’s tail, three of them were sent flying, smashing through windows. A swipe of it’s claws ended the lives of two more, their blood spraying across the ground.  
  
Suddenly, a [storm of feathers](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/a/a1/FeatherShot-LCGX-EN-R-1E.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20130814073733) came raining down upon the dragon, embedding themselves in it’s hide, and then exploding. The dragon roared in pain, and turned to it’s new attacker, as did Wynn.  
  
A strange man covered in [green feathers](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/2/2b/ElementalHEROAvian-SDHS-EN-C-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20150131130535) came flying in, shooting more feathers at the dragon. The creature roared in pain at the impacts, and retaliated with a swipe of it’s claws.  
  
The bird man was highly adept in the sky however, dodging out of the way of the swipes, and then slashing at the dragon with is own claws. The dragon reeled back as the bird man’s strikes cut wounds in it’s foreleg.  
  
It bit at him, though he rolled out of the way, and slashed at the dragons eye. The dragon roared in pain and rage as the blow struck true. The bird man took off, away from the dragon as it slashed blindly.  
  
From his high position, he hurled more feathers down at the beast, aiming for it’s wounded areas, further weakening the creature. The dragon inhaled, and let lose a blast of dark violet flames, aimed directly at the bird man.  
  
Wynn gasped as it seemed to impact him head on, but then the flames parted down the stream, as a blade of focused air cut directly into the dragons snout.  
  
Wynn was impressed. She had never seen such mastery of wind magic from someone other than her father.  
  
The dragon stumbled back, it’s mouth filling with blood. It tried to balance itself, however, the bird man wasn’t going to give it the chance. With a gesture, a swift whirlwind ensued, circling around the dragon. It tried to stabilize, but the wind caught it’s wings and began lifting it into the air.  
  
Suddenly, it all went wrong. Out of nowhere, a red and black fireball emerged from nowhere, streaking straight towards the bird man. Wynn tried to warn him, but it was too late. The fireball caught him completely off guard.  
  
The whirlwind dissipated, and the dragon sank back to the ground. As the smoke cleared, the bird man came falling out of the sky, only to be struck by the tail of the dragon, and sent flying out of sight.  
  
Wynn attempted to see where he had landed, but couldn’t find him. She then searched for where the fireball had come from, but couldn’t find any monster in the area.  
  
Too late, she realized that the dragon was now looking at her. It inhaled, and Wynn knew what was coming next. She raised her good arm, gathering what magic she could, as the dragon unleashed it’s dark flame…

* * *

Winda watched the screen go blank.  
  
“What? Where’d the vision go? What happened next?!” She asked.  
  
“The Dragon's attack took out the camera. Until Avian recovers, that’s all we know.” Knopse said.  
  
“But… my sister!” Winda shouted.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Burstinatrix said.  
  
Winda tried to think of something to say, but couldn’t. She had only just started on her quest, and already, she was incredibly separated from her sister, who could very possibly be dead. She felt numb. Everything was going so wrong.  
  
“Dragons...” Bubbleman said, stroking his chin.  
  
“Do you have something?”  
  
“Dragon attacks have been on the rise recently.” He said. “This is definitely related.”  
  
He hit a button on the device, and the scene played out again. Looking at it from the beginning, Winda saw a red flash just before the Koumori Dragon appeared and attacked the transport.  
  
“There.” He said. “That red flash. Finally we have footage of it.”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“In all the recent occurrences of dragon attacks, the victims have described a red flash. I initially thought that this was just the breath weapon, but now, I suspect otherwise.  
  
“What do you think?” Burstinatrix asked.  
  
“It must be some sort of Summon.” He said.  
  
“Someone’s controlling these dragons?” Poison Rose asked, sounding horrified.  
  
“It would explain why they seem to appear out of nowhere, and disappear just as quickly.” He said. “Despite all the dragon attacks, nobodies reported dragons flying through the sky.”  
  
“Thank Thestalos for that.” Burstinatrix said.  
  
“So, then, who’s controlling them?” Poison Rose asked.  
  
“I might be able to give a few clues.” A voice said.  
  
Everyone turned, to see Elemental Hero Avian limping into the room.  
  
“Avian! You need to rest, and let the healing steam do it’s job.” Burstinatrix said.  
  
“I’ll say my piece first. Dont worry, it’s short.” Avian limped over to a chair with Knopse’s help.  
  
“Do you have any information to give us?”  
  
“Yeah, as I was arriving at the scene, I spied a blonde woman, late teens, maybe early twenties. I spotted her again just before I lost consciousness. She was, I believe, in the same direction that the fireball came from.”  
  
“Hmm...” Bubbleman scratched his chin again.  
  
“What do you have?” Avian asked.  
  
“I’ve heard rumors of new figure in the underworld, calling herself the Lady of Dragons. Her followers have been aggressively encroaching on other groups territories, absorbing or crushing them. There’s been plenty of conflict between her group and that of the Fiend Sword Baron. It’s most likely connected.”  
  
“But if these are rival gangers, then why attack them after they’ve already been arrested? They’re no longer a threat.” Poison Rose asked, clearly perplexed. “Surely not to free them?”  
  
“The contraband?” Burstinatrix suggested.  
  
“Seems like an odd choice.” Bubbleman said. “They can just make more Nutrient Z. Sadly, it’s not that difficult if you know how.”  
  
“So what then?”  
  
“Maybe make a recruiting pitch?” Burstinatrix suggested. “Get them on her side?”  
  
“Hell of a way to make one, then.” Avian said.  
  
“This definitely requires further investigation.” Bubbleman said.  
  
Winda had only been loosely paying attention to the conversation, still lost in thought over Wynn’s fate. She was shaken out of her thoughts by the sound of an alarm going off.  
  
“What’s happening?” She asked.  
  
Bubbleman tapped some buttons on his forearm, and then held his hand to his ear.  
  
“This is Bubbleman. What’s the situation.”  
  
There was a pause, as apparently he got some sort of response.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
Bubbleman paled. “There’s a Dragon just outside the headquarters.”  
  
The heroes immediately sprung into action.  
  
Poison Rose turned to Knopse. “Get Avian back to the healing center. Were heading out front.”  
  
“Right.” Knopse said.  
  
“What about me?” Winda asked.  
  
“Stay here.” Bubbleman said. “Someone will come get you when the situations been resolved.”  
  
Everyone quickly left the room, leaving Winda sitting in her chair.  
  
A Dragon had attacked her sister. There was a Dragon outside the building. That thing was definitely a lead to finding out what happened to Wynn. There was no way she was sitting this out.  
  
Happy to come to a decision. Winda stood up and left the room. Or at least she would have if the door weren’t locked.  
  
Winda paused only briefly. She’d make it up to them later, she rationalized. Instead she concentrated, and was satisfied to feel magical energy flowing through her again.  
  
She stepped back, and then aimed a wind-enhanced kick at the door, blasting it open. Now, she used the wind to augment her speed, running through the hallways, towards the front entrance.  
  
Or she would have. It then occurred to her that she had no idea how to find her way around the facility. She instead ran into several dead ends. She finally managed to find her way to the “elevator” she and Burstinatrix had used earlier.  
  
Getting inside (strangely, it took a lot longer to open this time), she looked at the buttons. Not sure what Burstinatrix had pushed, she just hit things at random.  
  
Eventually, she felt the machine move, upwards again. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but she had to take it.  
  
Eventually it opened, this time to a completely new area, and this time with a girl standing in front of her. She had blonde hair and wore a strange uniform looking outfit. She had a very sleepy expression, as if she had just woken up.  
  
“How do I get outside?” Winda asked.  
  
The girl, evidently confused, pointed in a direction.  
  
“Um… Follow that hallway?” She suggested. “Take a left turn?”  
  
Without waiting any longer, Winda took off, dashing in the directions she gave.  
  
She came to a door, that lead to some sort of balcony. Here, she could see the city, with all it’s disorienting flashing lights. As she looked back, she could now appreciate the immense size of the Hero Headquarters, larger than many of the buildings in the city. She turned back to the city and stared, in awe at the sights, her eyes leaping from place to place, unable to stay focused on one location for long before they were distracted by some new attraction. Her feet jittered, the sheer motion of everything making her energetic and antsy.  
  
Finally noises from below reminded her of why she had come out here. She looked over the railing, and saw various figures assembled far below, at what must have been the entrance.  
  
Not wasting another moment, Winda leaped off the balcony, gliding upon the winds to fall safely into their midst. Various heroes were taking combat positions behind barricades.  
  
Bubbleman turned towards her. “Kid, I said to stay inside. We have this-”  
  
She heard a squeal from the other side of the barricades.  
  
“It’s coming closer!” Someone shouted. Everyone readied for combat.  
  
Everybody, except Winda, for whom that cry sounded familiar.  
  
“Peti?” She exclaimed.  
  
“What’s a Peti?” Poison Rose asked.  
  
Winda didn’t bother answering, instead leaping over the group of heroes, landing in front of them. Indeed, floating in the air was a tiny, green-scaled serpent like dragon.  
  
“Peti! It is you!” Winda exclaimed with glee.  
  
The Petit Dragon rushed into her arms, and she embraced her.  
  
“What.” Poison Rose didn’t know how to respond.  
  
She heard a birds shriek, and her heart soared. She looked up to see the green feathered Gulldo descending towards her!  
  
“Gulldo! You’re here too!” She embraced them both. “I’m so glad your okay!”  
  
Bubbleman lowered his weapons. “Well, it looks like things are… under control here. Situation handled.”  
  
“What is even happening anymore?” Poison Rose sighed.

* * *

As the other Hero’s dispersed, Bubbleman approached Winda, who was still embracing the Dragon and bird.  
  
“I take it you are acquainted with these creatures?”  
  
“Yeah!” The bird roosted on Winda’s shoulder, while she continued to hold the Dragon. “Gulldo is my familiar, while Peti is my sisters familiar.”  
  
“Uh-huh” Bubbleman said. This day just kept getting weirder.  
  
“Gulldo must have been homing in on me, and Peti followed him. Good job!” Both Dragon and bird hummed in delight. “Also, that Peti’s in such good shape means that Wynn alive, too!”  
  
Bubbleman breathed a sigh of partial relief. He didn’t know much about familiar magic, but at least this would serve to put the high-ups at ease about a potential Dragon attack.  
  
He then took stock of the situation. He looked up at where she had jumped from, after apparently breaking out of the locked room. Clearly she was determined to find what had happened to her sister, and wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way. She was unfortunately incredibly reckless and impulsive, meaning there would likely be collateral damage in the path and if they tried to contain her, she’d likely break out again somehow.  
  
“Can you sense where Wynn is?” Winda asked the Dragon. The Dragon squeaked again, and then floated in the air, it’s entire body pointed towards a direction. “Alright, let’s get going.”  
  
And she was already intending to run off. Before she could get far, Bubbleman grabbed her by the back of her top.  
  
“Hey! Let go!” Winda shouted.  
  
“Kid, this city is massive, and there’s thousands of layers to it. Not to mention, you’re completely foreign to this kind of environment. You’ll get lost before you know it.” _And cause plenty of trouble along the way._ He thought in private.  
  
“Well, I can’t just leave her in Goddess knows where!” She exclaimed.  
  
“Then let me help you.” He suggested.  
  
Her eyes widened, as did the birds. “Really!”  
  
“Yes, the person I’m looking for seems to be involved with what happened to your sister.” He said. “Were clearly on the same case here, best if we work together.”  
  
“Yes, come with me.” He said, leading her away. “I’ve come up with a few leads we might follow. Also, you might want your equipment back."


	6. The Raid

In all honesty, Winda had completely forgotten about her equipment. Her earrings, her jewelery, her bracers, her thigh band, her cloak, and her staff, had completely slipped her mind.  
  
It definitely felt good to have them back, and along with Gulldo by her side, she felt a renewed completeness she hadn’t realized she was lacking. These adornments weren’t just for decoration. They were magical serving to augment her magic ability.  
  
Bubbleman had taken Winda along with him, leading her to what appeared to be a warehouse of some sort, on one of the lower levels. Again, she marveled at how massive this city-world was. They hadn’t even gone underground, but it was still lit like night here, despite it being daytime.  
  
“Why are we here?” Winda asked.  
  
“Raidraptor scouts picked up highly suspicious activity. They saw the prime suspect in your sisters kidnapping entering this building not to long ago.”  
  
“Alright!” Winda lifted her staff and prepared to head inside. “Let’s go!”  
  
“Hold on.”  
  
“What now?” Winda said, growing irritated.  
  
“We observe!” Bubbleman said. “We scout the area, learn what were up against.”  
  
“Or we can just take them now.” Winda said.  
  
“And possibly walk into an ambush.” Bubbleman countered. “She went in there for a reason. Best to find out what it is.”  
  
Winda sighed. “Fine.”  
  
Bubbleman aimed his bubble blaster. “ _Celestial Spheres Bubbles!_ ” He whispered.  
  
Bubbles emerged from the blaster, heading to the building where they formed a ramp leading to the buildings roof. Without hesitation, he ran along the bubble-ramp to his destination.  
  
Winda considered following him that way, but instead, used the wind to leap up next to him. Once Bubbleman was on the roof, he made a brief gesture, and all the bubbles popped.  
  
“What now?!” Winda asked.  
  
“An access hatch.” Bubbleman indicated a metal hatch on the roof. It was locked, though he drew from his belt a lockpick and set to work. In short order the lock was disengaged. Winda then immediately attempted to open it, only to hear a screech.  
  
“Stop.” Bubbleman whispered. “Too much noise.”  
  
“So what _now_?” Winda asked.  
  
“ _Wandering Stars Incendiary Bubbles_.” Bubbleman shot out more bubbles, these looking black and greasy. They landed on the hinges, and broke soaking them in what smelled like oil.  
  
After waiting a few seconds, he tried the hatch again, this time it was silent. “After you.” He said with a grin.

* * *

Bubbleman entered the structure after Winda, slowly closing the hatch behind him. He slid down the ladder, and landed in what appeared to be a foreman's office of a sort. It clearly had not been used in some time, as it was dark and a layer of dust covered everything.  
  
The door was shut, but a large window took up one of the walls. Peering through the curtains, he saw his suspicions concerned. The place was bustling with activity. He could see plenty of monsters, handling contraband. Nutrient Z, Stim Packs, Damage Vaccine Ω MAX, Trumpeter Mist, Cursed Arms, Masks of Brutality, Black Pendants, Masks of the Accursed… there was so much here.  
  
Then he saw her. [A buxom blond woman](http://duellinks.gamea.co/file/content_thread/umi92hxs/qq315e5h/iy4zb6/m.jpg), who appeared not too much older than Winda. She wore a black corset and skirt, with thigh-high stockings. Her hair was held back in a pony tail. More concerning was the strange package she held. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it was sizable, and wrapped heavily in cloth. She was clearly in charge here, as he observed the body language of those around her.  
  
The other criminals were concerning. Most were humanoid, but that was always dangerous. It was very difficult to tell what a humanoid monster’s types and attributes were from appearance alone. He activated his comms.  
  
 _“Found her, just as Avian described. There are multiple others here as well, mostly humanoids. This appears to be some sort of place to keep illegal contraband. A lot of illegal contraband. Weapons, drugs, magic items. You name it.”  
_  
“ _Got it._ ” Replied the voice. “ _On my way.”  
_  
“Alright, we hold position, Elemental Hero [Blazeman](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/b/ba/ElementalHEROBlazeman-LEHD-EN-C-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20181012171036) is en route.” He said, turning to the absent Winda.  
  
Wait.  
  
“Shit.” He realized as he saw she had run out of the room and onto the metal balcony before leaping over the warehouse proper.  
  
“Hey!” Winda shouted. “Take this! _[Thunder Short](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/0/0e/ThunderShort-GENF-EN-C-1E.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120601062729)!_”  
  
A massive blast of lighting shot out from the tip of her staff, striking one of the unaware criminals head on. It then arced from that enemy to multiple others, taking down each of them that it struck. She landed and kicked another ganger away, before unleashing yet another burst of chain lightning.  
  
Bubbleman rushed in after her, and was glad he did. Behind Winda, one of the gangers was drawing a firearm. Before he could fire, Bubbleman came crashing down on him, smashing him into the ground. Two strikes took out the gangers next to him.  
  
“Heroes!” A shout went out. Well, the element of surprise had been wasted. Might as well make the most of the situation. Winda was already engaging the blonde woman.  
  
Before any of the other gangers in the room could take advantage of this, Bubbleman held up his blaster. “ _Wandering Stars Bubbles!_ ”  
  
Multiple bubbles shot out, trailing through the air at high speed to home in on multiple targets, exploding on impact, sending them flying.  
  
His HUD then alerted him to something approaching from behind. He rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the swing of a [Cyclops](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/e/e5/HitotsuMeGiant-DPKB-EN-C-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20100425061014).  
  
“ _Wandering Stars Bubbles_!” He shouted, launching more homing bubbles. However, they appeared to have little effect, and the Cyclops charged towards him.  
  
He leaped over it’s head, kicking it on the back and sending it stumbling into a stack of crates. The damn thing was probably hopped up on [Stim-Packs](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/3/36/StimPack-TF04-JP-VG.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/275?cb=20120420194010). He didn’t look forwards to having to take this thing in. The [side-effects](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/S5kAAOSwOMdZUNOr/s-l300.jpg) of those drugs were very unpleasant.  
  
But no time to think about that now. As the Cyclops recovered, Bubbleman shouted. “ _Bubblebeam!_ ”  
  
A focused stream of bubbles came crashing towards the Cyclops. However, the monster simply charged through them, grabbing Bubbleman by the neck.

* * *

This woman was perhaps one of the most frustrating opponents Winda had ever fought. Every wind blast or blade she launched was intercepted by fire blasts. Fire. How in Raiza’s name did fire even _do_ that?  
  
And what made it worse was that the bitch had that smug smile on her the entire time. And she was only using one hand, the other still holding that package. It just made Winda want to hit her even harder.  
  
“ _Raimei!_ ” A blast of lightning arced from her hands.  
  
At the same time, her opponent held out her free hand and pointed. “ _Sparks._ ”  
  
A small flare of fire erupted, intercepting the lightning. Okay now she _knew_ she was being mocked.  
  
“ _Hurricane Strike_!” Winda unleashed a focused lance of air directly at her enemy. The blonde woman rolled aside, and countered with more _Sparks_ shots from her fingers.  
  
Winda backed away, dodging the small firebolts, eventually leaping back up onto a balcony, then onto a crane and over the blonde womans head to the other side. She was still smiling smugly, and this continued to piss her off.  
  
She lifted her staff, gathering the winds around it. The woman formed flames in her hands, preparing for another counter. She was in for a surprise, Winda thought, as she cast one of her fathers favorite spells.  
  
“[ _Dust Storm of Gusto_](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51yeuVK2DUL.jpg)!” Though there wasn’t exactly much dust in this area, there was plenty of loose material in the form of paper, wrappers, small bits of wood, and now ashes. Winda slammed the gathered wind against the ground, lifting all these bits into the air around the blonde woman. The flame shot went wild, as her sight was blocked.  
  
Seizing the opportunity, Winda leaped off her perch and into the cloud. She struck the woman head on with an electricity-charged staff. She grunted in pain, and Winda kept up the assault, her opponent unable to make a counter attack. When the cloud began to settle, Winda ducked beneath a blind jab, and then rose with a spinning kick, augmented by wind. Her opponent was sent flying smashing into a table and sending items flying on it every which way. Winda leaped towards her fallen opponent, staff held at her throat **.**

* * *

 ****Bubbleman kicked and struck at the blue-skinned Cyclops, but to no avail. The creature was too tough, his blows did nothing. The Cyclops gripped him in both hands and began to squeeze, a savage grin on it’s face.  
  
Bubbleman cried out in pain as he felt his body being crushed. His hands were trapped, unable to do anything. His armor was denting, and cracking in some places.  
  
Suddenly, a storm of feathers came raining down on the Cyclops back, burying their quills in. Bubbleman looked up to see Gulldo come crashing down on the creature raking it with his talons. The juiced up Cyclops merely roared. However, it took one hand off Bubbleman to attempt to swat at the Winged Beast.  
  
This proved to be it’s undoing. Bubbleman managed to free one of his hands and then tapped the creature on the chest. When it turned to look at him, he aimed a punch, dead center in it’s eye. The Cyclops dropped him, covering it’s eye while screaming in agony.  
  
As it stumbled back, Peti came in, and breathed fire on the Cyclops’ foot. It hopped in pain, and fell on it’s back, forcing the feathers in deeper.  
  
Seizing the opportunity, Bubbleman created a large bubble directly in front of him, and then leaped onto it, bouncing into the air.  
  
Now, from directly over the creature, he shouted. “ _Torrential Bubblebeam_!”  
  
A high-speed burst of bubbles came crashing down upon the Cyclops, who looked up with a bloody eye. But it was too late. The bubbles impacted it with extreme force, exploding into steam on impact. From the air, Bubbleman spread his cape. It became rigid, and he glided back to the ground, just in time to see the steam clear, revealing a very unconscious Cyclops.

* * *

“Alright now talk!” Winda demanded. “Where is my sister? What have you done to her?”  
  
“I’ve done things to plenty of people,” the woman said. Despite the circumstances, she still retained that smugness. “Your going to have to be more specific.”  
  
“You know what I’m talking about!” Winda said. Her staff began to glow.  
  
“Okay, okay!” She said, raising her free hand, though she still sounded like she was trying not to laugh. “You do look similar to another girl I saw earlier. She seemed interesting. At least until the Cursed Flame hit her head on.”  
  
Winda snarled, and electricity crackled along her staff. “If you killed her...”  
  
The woman didn’t say anything, but smirked, revealing that she had very sharp teeth. She then exhaled, letting lose a blast of fire, directly in Winda’s face.

* * *

Bubbleman saw Winda leap back, crying in pain as the fire struck her. She blindly fired a burst of wind, but it was unfocused. Her opponent weathered the attack, and righted herself. She then kicked Winda away.  
  
She then looked around to see all her minions had been taken out. Bubbleman, now free to engage, took full advantage of it, while Gulldo flew over to his injured mistress, Peti following.  
  
“ _Wandering Stars Bubbles!_ ” He shouted, followed by a “ _Bubblebeam!_ ”  
  
The woman was fast however. She sidestepped the beam, and then tossed more fire, intercepting the homing bubbles. She then hurled fire at Bubbleman, who shielded himself with his cape.  
  
With a flourish, the flames dispersed, and he saw the blonde woman fleeing out of the warehouses back entrance. Then there was a blast of fire out there, not from her. She halted as a red armored figure appeared. Blazeman had arrived.  
  
With the enemy occupied, Bubbleman rushed over to Winda, still clutching her face in pain.  
  
“Let me see.” He said.  
  
Winda lowered her hands, revealing several burn marks on her face.  
  
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” She said. She clapped her hands together and closed her eyes, as if praying. “ _Blessings for Gusto_!”  
  
A soft white light surrounded Winda, and Bubbleman watched as her injuries disappeared, leaving her unblemished.  
  
With that worry out of the way, he turned to the blonde woman, still in a standoff with Blazeman. Winda and he approached her.  
  
“Surrender!” He shouted. He aimed his bubble gun at her, while Winda aimed her staff. “Your surrounded!”  
  
The woman smiled, and then checked her wristwatch. “It’s been fun playing with you all, but I do have a schedule to keep. But, if your still not satisfied, I have someone who can keep you company.”  
  
She pulled the cloth covering off of the package, revealing some sort of vase with a dragons face carved on it. Bubbleman wasn’t sure what she planned to do with that, but Winda apparently did.  
  
“Look out everyone!” She shouted, but it was too late.  
  
The woman lifted the vase above her head. “ _Great Dragon of war, deadly weapon of darkness! Come forth at your commanders summons! Dark Armed Dragon!”  
_  
A red aura emerged from the vase, rapidly forming into the shape of a Dragon, then coming to life. A massive monster now stood before them, towering over the area. The Dragon was covered in black armor, and had so many weapons sticking out of it that it was difficult to ascertain it’s true appearance beneath it.  
  
The [Dark Armed Dragon](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/a/ad/DarkArmedDragon-LCKC-EN-ScR-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20180323180912) roared.


End file.
